One of Those Days
by That Lonely Girl on a Laptop
Summary: Not all days go as planned, and this one day causes both Ash and May to be at each other's throats. But can they really stay mad at each other? Terrible Summary, rated K, hints of Advanceshipping!


It was mid-morning in the Petalburg woods in Hoenn. Clouds were absent from the sky which clearly exposed the sun which bored its heat onto the area. The wild Pokemon species of the habitat seemed all hot and bothered as they took shelter under the many oaks and pine trees to escape the heat. A small crowd of Treeko rest in one of them in the shade away from the sun's torturous rays, sleeping contently. Well, they were until an angry yell jumped them and several others awake, causing a sudden buzz of activity in the small area.

"HOW BIG IS THIS FOREST?!" A young male with unruly black hair yelled angrily as he stamped his foot in frustration in the dirt track, causing a small explosion of dust around his leg. He had been in this wood for over a week looking for Rustboro City for his next gym battle but he had lost his map to a heat-stressed Arcanine as they entered the woods. The heatwave had been going on for some time. That wasn't all he had problems with.

"Ash, you said that yesterday and I told you yesterday that I don't know…" A brunette haired girl wearing a red bandana growled at him, folding her arms over her stomach.

"I need this badge!"

"I know! You said that TOO!" May snapped irritably. If she heard him complain about that badge one more time…

"Come on, we should keep going." Ash huffed, stomping off ahead of May, who pulled a face at him before following.

A few hours go by as the day goes into the afternoon. The heat was beginning to set in further, causing the pair to become pricklier towards each other. But it soon became clear that it wasn't just the heat and the stress of being lost that was giving them problems.

Ash yawned as he walked lazily, but, hearing a sudden and loud growl, jumped out of his skin.

"Huh?" Ash looked around dumbly. "What was that? An Ursaring?" he peered into some trees as he heard it again.

"No." May sighed irritably, putting a hand on her abdomen, "I'm hungry."

"Oh… um, I don't think there's anything left…" Ash answered slowly and carefully, having quite a firm idea on how May was going to react.

"What?!" A snap confirmed his suspicion.

"…We can look inside out bags I guess? See what's there?"

May didn't need to be told twice, she immediately ripped her fanny-pack off and started tearing through it. After a few moments, Ash ducked as she practically threw the bag at him in frustration.

"May, calm down, we'll get something to eat in the next town!" Ash put his hands up in defence. May sighed and picked it back up.

"Can we _please_ try to find the next town, _today_?" she snaps at him, over her shoulder before walking off. Ash growled and clenched his fists before following her. The normally level-headed male couldn't cope with this heat, which seemed to be bringing up his irritability levels to its peak.

For a small period of time, neither of them spoke while they walked. They both felt that maybe this would lessen the tension between them. Until…

"That's a BUTTERFREE!"

"Sheesh, _I'm sorry_! It looked like a-"

"A Beautifly is smaller and the shape of the head is different!" How could you make that mistake, May? Seriously!"

May growled and waved her hand at him as she stormed off in front. Why does Ash have to be so insufferable sometimes? Her stomach rumbled again, which only deepens her annoyance. That, the heat, and Ash being annoying and pig-headed, all add to it.

Ash caught up to her after a few moments, and he seemed to have calmed down. Which made May relax. Which seemed to send a vibe through the rest of the forest as Pokemon began to re-emerge. And Ash decided to go and watch a small herd of Stantler. May, knowing she would just disturb them, sat on a rock, watching him from a small distance away. She leant back and rested her head against the tree, sighing. She took off her bandana and used it to wipe her brow. Walking in this heat and on an empty stomach left her feeling drained.

The girl yawned quietly and her chin dropped onto her chest. Maybe a sleep would help…

Things were quiet for a while, and everything was calm.

For about twenty minutes.

"Ash, I said I was sorry, you can't stay mad at me forever!" May hissed through her teeth as she threw her hands up.

"I was going to catch one of those Stantler but _no_! You _had_ to wreck it-!" the boy snarled back, taking his hat off and using it to fan his face.

"I can't help it! I'm hungry!" May snapped, before growling a sharp "Oh, shut up!" at her stomach, which wanted to remind her of that very fact by grumbling louder.

"Ack!" Ash put his hand to his forehead, feeling as though he was about to keel over from the heat and his own frustration, "Hopefully it isn't much further…"

"It'd better not."

Ash turned around, ready to snarl at her but stopped as he noticed that the girl looked as worn out and tired as he felt. He sighed shallowly and kept walking. He took out a bottle of water, taking a long drink from it. He was starting to feel peckish himself. He hopes they get to the town soon, having May in a bad mood from being ravenous was bad enough, he didn't want them _both_ to be in that kind of mood, or things would turn ugly.

Ash was suddenly broken out of his thoughts by an extremely loud growl, making him jump violently.

"Sweet Arceus, May, I know you're hungry but sheesh!" He turned to face the girl, who was indeed right behind him, but her irises seemed to have shrunk.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his chest suddenly going tight.

"Uh- that wasn't me." May gulped, staring into a patch of trees.

"Wha-?!" Before Ash could finish his sentence, an Ursaring suddenly charged out of the bushes, roaring angrily.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Both kids screamed, grabbing onto each other for protection. As the bear advanced on them, the pair wisely took off, staying together.

It took them ages to outrun the heat-stressed bear creature. Both of them were exhausted and it was now the time of day between afternoon and sunset. Ash sighed, walking ahead, onto the top of a hill. And getting there, and looking up, his brown eyes light up. The town! Finally!

"May! We're here! It's just about a… twenty minute walk away!" He turned around to see May wandering tiredly next to him.

"Hmm… finally." She sighed. She shut her eyes for a moment before looking at him, her eyes were tired. "Ash… I'm sorry I scared those Stantler off and being so moody."

"Huh? Oh, it's ok…" he rubbed the back of his neck "And, I'm sorry for snapping at you for it, and for everything else. Guess it hasn't been a great day, huh?"

"No…"

"Well… hey, the town's there, we can get something to eat and have a rest at the Pokemon Center. Tomorrow will be better."

May just nodded, practically asleep on her feet.

"Well, come on! Let's go!" He grabbed her arm and tried to pull her along. May just sighed and didn't move. She was too tired.

Ash turned around and lifted her head slightly, he smirked a little seeing that she was practically asleep. He sighed and gave her a genuine smile, turning around.

"Hey, come on, I'll take you down." He looked behind her as May looked up at him and, seeing how she didn't have the will to keep walking, jumped onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck. He grabbed her legs and, with that, started walking down the hill.

As he walked, Ash couldn't help but smile, thinking back on the events of this day, it was actually pretty funny.

"Well… this'll be a story to tell Max won't it, May?" he asked out loud, wondering if May heard him.

May muttered something about vegetables and didn't reply beyond that. Making the boy laugh a little. Although not every day was going to work out, something he knew for sure, was that, on this journey, it will never be boring.


End file.
